The Papilio Effect
by TigerGirl1959
Summary: What if Chris had gone to Blackwood Pines before the anniversary of Beth and Hannah's death? What if Chris had found out that something was wrong? What if he had seen the cracks within Josh's mind? What if he had been there for his best friend? What if there had been a butterfly effect? Pre-Slash/Slash. Chris/Josh. Trigger warnings inside. Rated T/M.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first ever "Until Dawn" fan fiction. I wanted a good ending for Josh, and though I haven't played the game myself, I have watched plenty of people play it. I've pleaded with the gods above that Josh (my favourite character I might add) would get a happy ending...Yeah. So that didn't happen. Not exactly anyway. -_-**

 **However, one had to wonder, what would have happened had someone been there for Josh before the whole Wendigo and Psychopath thing happened? What if there was a Butterfly effect that lead Chris to be there for Josh and find out that not everything is as it seemed?**

 **WARNINGS: Set before the events of Until Dawn. Pre-Slash/Slash. MxM CHRIS/JOSH in later chapters. Trigger warning! This story involves cutting. Slight spoilers. Every character other than the Wendigo's will be involved, or should be at least ;) You'll also find mistakes with my writing. Eh, what can I say? ¬¬ I'm certainly no professional.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything to do with Until Dawn. If I did, things would have turned out much differently.**

 **One final note before you begin; not everything is as it seems...**

The Butterfly Effect. Chapter 1: Cut...

Darkness covered the entirety of Blackwood Pines Mountain; even the normally bright, enchanting silver moon was masked by shadows from greying clouds above. The only sound was that of the wind which was blowing so strong it forced trees to rock back and forth – making some even fall down in protest.

A lone, blood red butterfly fluttered its large wings against the movement of the hurricane-like air. Using all its strength so it wouldn't get blown away from its current direction, the creature flapped rapidly.

The Butterfly finally landed upon a snow covered windowsill, and ever so gently it stretched out its crimson coloured wings that stuck out more due to the pure, untouched, white background it was perched on.

With its antennae's twitching, it looked for all the world as though it was peering inside the window that it was resting on.

It showed the only room in the Blackwood Pines Lodge that had a light on. Though it did flicker now and then, with the storm brewing outside it was explainable, it was still clearly seen as the bathroom.

A young male, around the age of 20, was sitting in nothing but his boxers by the side of the tub which was filled with water that was neither clean nor dirty. He had a lost look in his eyes as he stared into nothingness…

Blood slowly slide down his right arm that came from small gases. Multiple where located all the way from his elbow to the top of his wrists, messily made with former blurred eyes that were coursed from a build-up of unshed tears that now fell with the blood.

His hand lay practically lifeless in the once warm water, and the line of crimson continued to slide down his arm until it reached his fingertips.

 _Drip…Drip…Drip…_

The blood dropped into the bath, infecting its water with a watercolour of red.

After so long of staring at nothing, lost in thought, the short, brown haired boy seemed to jump awake even though his eyes had never been shut. Taking hold of a nearby towel, he moved his arm away from the tub, watching as droplets of his own blood hit against the tiled floor – he slowly wrapped his self-inflicted wound up.

He was so use to this action, he did it all sub-consciously; stopping the bleeding, cleaning the cuts, placing them in bandages and throwing away the blood covered towel to hide the evidence.

Once he was done, he pulled the plug, silently watching as all his pain was sucked down the drain as though it had never happened in the first place.

Making sure the floor no longer wore crimson, he cleaned that too before finding himself in front of the bathroom mirror. His reflection stared back at him, laughing at him, calling him pathetic, ugly and a waste of space. A coward. Useless. Weak. A disgrace.

He shook his head, trying to stop the reflections words, grasping at his curly-top hair and thrashing about – until finally – the mirror shattered and the lights went out. The only thing to be heard from the bathroom was crying.

And then the Butterfly flew away…

* * *

" _So you think that it's right to hurt yourself?"_

 _There was no verbal answer, only a simple nod._

" _And you enjoy hurting yourself?"_

 _There was a long, pregnant pause. "It makes me feel real…"_

 _The other scrunched up his face. "It makes you feel real? That's why you cut yourself?"_

"… _Yes…"_

" _Joshua Washington," he addressed the other male seriously. "Are you still taking the pills I gave you?"_

" _Uh-huh," Josh nod again, his eyes anywhere but making contact with his therapist – Dr Hill._

" _Do you think they're helping?"_

 _Josh nervously rubbed his hands against the leg of his jeans. "They make me sleepy and confused…"_

" _Ah," the older man chuckled a little as he reached over and took Josh's hand in his own, making the younger try to tug away but it was no good. "These pills are to help you forget, don't you want that, Joshua?"_

" _I-I…"_

" _Of course you want to forget. Everyone does. After all, it's all your fault that your sisters died that night, isn't it?"_

" _No," Josh protested shaking his head to try and rid the blame from his mind. "It wasn't my fault, it wasn't anyone's fault-!"_

" _Shh, shhhh," Dr Hill smoothed. He ran his thumb over the pulse of Josh's wrist, his other hand gracing the younger's face – not giving him a chance to pull away as he took a strong hold of Josh's neck so hard it bruised. "Everyone knows it was your fault, Joshua."_

 _Feeling his eyes burn with the familiar sting of tears, Josh tried his hardest not to cry but it was no good._

 _A sudden ringing struck out and Dr Hill pulled away with a satisfied smile on his face. "Well, I'm afraid that's all the time we have for this session, Joshua. Not to worry, we will talk again very soon. Until then, I'm upping your dose, be sure to take them an hour before out next meeting."_

 _With that, he stood from his chair and wondered over towards a large, closed window that over looked most of Blackwood Pines._

 _Josh stood up from his own chair and spared a final look at the Doctor before walking outside into the freezing cold air that greeted him._

 _That was the second meeting of so many more…_

* * *

The cable car screeched to a sudden halt and almost made its single occupant fall flat on his face.

"They really need to get a new one of these…" Chris said to himself once the doors began to slide open and he strolled out. "I swear this mountain gets bigger every time I'm here."

He grumbled as he stretched out his arms and legs before pulling his mobile phone out of his bag that was slung over his shoulder. Scrolling through his apps, he clicked on his emails and frowned once he saw he didn't have a signal to actually look at any.

With a sigh of complaint, he rolled his eyes and instead tapped on his messages, wondering briefly whether or not he should text the man he had come all the way to Blackwood Pines for.

Josh's name lay under his thumb yet he didn't press it.

After a few emails to his best friend, Chris knew something was wrong but didn't know what, and thus decided that he had to make a trip up the mountain…Even if he happened to neglect not telling the 20 year old who was currently staying at the Lodge, alone.

Chris figured that Josh could do with a nice surprise, and it was him, so Josh wouldn't mind…would he?

After the young Washington had dropped out of college, he had spent most of his time up at the Lodge, away from anything remotely normal. Everyone of their group of friends had tried to get him to come down, but no matter what they did, it didn't work.

Chris couldn't blame him. After his sisters…He hadn't been right, not that anyone would after hearing the news, but –call him selfish- he wanted his best friend back.

' _Josh…'_

* * *

Walking to the Lodge was a lot harder than Chris ever remembered. The snow was thick and stuck to his boots, weighing him down the closer he got to his destination. The air was strong and practically blew him back down the mountain!

What was worst, was there seemed to be a storm heading on its way to the Lodge and it was ice cold – making him dither from the chill of the night.

"Oh, there is a god!" Chris spoke with delight when he caught sight of the extremely large Lodge. "Find Josh, get warm, take a shower and go to bed – that sounds like a plan."

The self-proclaimed Joke-Master rushed up the stairs and knocked on the door. He waited. And waited. Yet nothing happened. No footsteps; no nothing.

"Josh?" Chris' voice was pretty much lost to the wind. Still nothing. "Hey buddy, you there?"

The blonde tried the door a few more times but it was locked.

"Okay…" Turning around, he made his way back down the steps and was about to head around back to see if there was another way in, but he stopped dead in his tracks once he noticed a lone figure who was carrying an axe plus some chopped wood.

"Josh," he mustn't have spoken loud enough because the other didn't look up. The smile that was on Chris' face from spotting his friend faded as quickly as it came.

Josh looked like hell. His once beautiful, sparkling orbs were dimmed with sadness and a deep depression. Dark circles lay under his eyes that looked red and puffy like he had been…crying?

' _Wait,'_ Chris thought. _'Is that a bruise?!'_

It was dark out, and he was wearing glasses, but even he could see the yellow and purple bruise that was forming by the base of his neck. It was almost covered by his body warmer, but not completely.

What the hell happened to his best friend?

"Josh?!"

The dark haired beauty practically jumped out of his skin, dropping both the axe and wood to the snowy ground with a thump. He looked scarred and frightened –so frightened- it broke Chris' heart.

However, the smile that bloomed across Josh's face once he realised that it was Chris who was there washed every other thought from the blondes head…

 **Well, it's honestly up to you guys now. If you want more of this story then please feel free to review, favourite and/or follow. Even Pm if you want. Just let me know if you want this continued. And I'll update tomorrow or even later tonight if you do want to see where this goes. :) Cheers for reading!**

 **{Update} This story was called "The Butterfly Effect," as it goes with the cover. However, I've been told I'm copying another person's title. And to keep the peace I've changed mine, because...well, it's a title. I'm not changing the cover art because I worked too hard on that one ;) So from now on this story will be called "The Papilio Effect," which is pretty much the same except I'm using Latin for 'Butterfly.'**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Wow! Thank you all so much for the reviews, faves and followers! I'm glad this story has interested you enough to stick around ;)**

 **Warnings: Pre-Slash/Slash. Drunkenness, kind of a make out session and – oh yeah – a bruised bum. Past reference. Trigger warning! Cutting reference. Mental state reference. Eventually Chris/Josh.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything to do with Until Dawn.**

The Papilio Effect. Chapter 2: Human...

Chris hadn't expected much when he saw Josh run towards him, leaving the axe and wood to sink into the snow, he especially did not expect what he received. Josh wrapped his arms around Chris shoulders, pulling him into some sort of mini, but just as strong, bear hug, and lay his head by the blonde's neck.

"You're real," Josh mumbled so low that Chris didn't hear him properly.

The one year younger male found himself hugging back just as tightly, like he was being clung to like a life-jacket, and he didn't quite understand why he missed the touch so much when Josh eventually pulled away.

"What are you doing out here, Cochise?" It was that question from the dark haired man that finally brought Chris back from his thoughts of why he missed Josh's touch.

"Oh, you know me," Chris looked around, waving his arms in the air. "Just thought that I needed some fresh air is all."

Obviously, Josh didn't believe him. "Please, bud, you can't last five minutes without your phone and we all know that the connection out here practically doesn't exist."

' _That's because it doesn't…'_ Chris thought but went against saying it.

"Okay, you got me," he dropped his hands to his side before shrugging. "I missed my best friend and thought he could do with some company up here by himself."

Chris noted the sparkle that seemed to return to his friends eyes, and Josh looked like he was about to say something but stopped himself quickly – the sparkle dulling again.

"You must be freezing," he said instead as he looked anywhere but at Chris now. "We should get inside before the weather gets worse."

"What do you mean _worse_?" Chris asked with a raised eyebrow. "You mean it's going to get worse than this?"

Josh laughed yet it seemed far too hollow. "This is nothing, Cochise! – It's going to get way worse. I would have warned you… had you told me you were coming up here."

"Yeah…now I know for next time."

"Hey, grab the axe would ya?" Josh asked as he moved back to where he had been walking before Chris spoke, and he picked up all the pieces of wood he had chopped.

"Okay, picking up an axe." Chris wondered over and looked at the axe. "Just gotta stretch out my muscles-"

"Chris, unless you want your mini-you to fall off from the cold I suggest you hurry up."

"Huh. Good point. I wouldn't want my mini-me to fall off now would I?"

Picking up the axe, Chris followed Josh back up the steps to the Lodge.

Josh seemed to be struggling to open the door. "Damn thing…"

"What's the matter?"

"It's iced, I don't have the strength to break it…" Josh muttered the last part but Chris heard it and frowned.

"Here, let me try." With some force, the door eventually opened up. "Bam! See these muscles right here?" Chris began to flex but it served as no appeal due to his thick, blue jacket. "Uh-huh. I got it going on."

"Whatever you say," Josh shook his head and walked inside. "The powers on but the heating's out, so I'll start a fire."

Chris looked around the Lodge and frowned. Nothing had really been uncovered. It all still had the white covers on, no dust which was more than likely due to Josh, everything looked the same as it did a year ago.

"Make yourself at home," Josh said as he began to make a fire with some of the less damp wood.

"Don't mind if I do," Chris flopped down on the sofa and watched every move that Josh made. Like he was in a trance, but then again, Josh always had a way to captivate him. He had to admit, the fact that Josh was bent down by the fire…

Shaking his head to rid himself of his current train of thought, Chris suddenly noticed the marks on Josh's arms. The more he poked at the growing fire, the more his t-shirt rid up his arms and showed bandages that were stained with blood…

* * *

Tossing and turning in the guest bed he had been allowed to stay in, Chris couldn't sleep. He tried. He really did. Yet whenever he closed his eyes, all he saw was the bruise on Josh's neck and the wounds on his arms. Was he being hurt by someone? In which case, who? Who would want to hurt Josh? And who the hell was on this mountain other then them?

"Urgh," the blonde growled as he sat up in the bed. His mind just wouldn't stop, his protective side was already kicking in and he wanted to rip whoever hurt his best friend face off. "That's it. I can't take it anymore."

Standing up from the bed, Chris grabbed his glasses and marched out of his room in nothing but his boxers. He would have put his jeans back on and maybe even his t-shirt, but he had been that annoyed by not being able to sleep he hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Josh?" Chris whispered as he peered into his best friend's bedroom…but no one was in there. "Josh?" He called out again as he opened the door wider but there was no sign that the brown haired male had ever been in there.

It was like the living room, if you could call it that, untouched since the night that Hannah and Beth, Josh's sisters, disappeared…

* * *

 _Chris and Josh were up in the later of the twos room, with a few more than necessary beers in hand that they necked back with ease._

" _Hey, I've got an idea that'll blow your mind!" Chris grinned, his cheeks redder than normal due to the alcohol intake._

 _Josh necked another beer and sniggered. "I'm all ears, Cochise!" However the sniggers died down once he fell from the side of the bed with a loud thump once he hit the ground._

 _Chris crawled over to the edge of the bed and peered over. "Are you okay?"_

" _Yeah," Josh answered with a weak nod. "I think I bruised my butt, though."_

" _Hold on, I'm coming down," Chris drunkenly made to slide off the bed only to fall on top of Josh._

" _Hey," 'wow, that was so lame!' Chris mentally cursed himself when he spoke. He was able to pull himself up so his weight wasn't pinning Josh down anymore, and looked down at his friend._

" _Hey yourself, Cochise," Josh smiled. "So what was that idea of yours, anyway?"_

" _Oh yeah!" Chris' face went from drunkenly amused to deadly serious in a matter of seconds, even scarring the other with how serious he turned. "How about…We make out?"_

 _Josh stop everything he was doing and snorted loudly. "Wow. You really are drunk, aren't you?"_

 _Chris shrugged. "Come on, so are you! It'll be fun, plus we're so drunk we probably won't remember any of this. What do you think?"_

" _I don't know…" Josh frowned. "Making out is pretty serious…"_

 _They stared at each other before bursting out laughing._

" _Okay, I suppose we can try…? I mean…I've never really made out with a dude before."_

" _Neither have I," Chris answered truthfully as he started to lean in close. It was awkward at first, neither knew how to start it off, but once their lips met – caution was thrown to the wind._

 _It quickly got heated and Chris moved his hands down Josh's side, making the other groan in need._

" _Want me to see if that ass of yours is bruised?" Chris didn't wait for an answer and began to pull down Josh's jeans. His hands invaded Josh's boxers and grabbed his ass, making the dark haired beauty thrust his hips up._

 _Without even realising it, Chris began to thrust his hips down so both of their crotches rubbed against each other in sync. It felt weird...to begin with, that is. And it was rather scary that it didn't feel entirely wrong. Chris raised Josh's legs over his own hips, feeling his member rub against the others fabric covered ass was enough to send him into a frenzy._

" _Chris, Chris, Chris!" Josh moaned loudly trying to pull the blondes t-shirt over his head but in his drunken state it didn't work so well._

" _Ok, ok, ok, ok-"Chris said out as he began to undo his own jeans, wanting more friction between them._

" _Get off of him you dirty dog!"_

 _Chris looked up just in time to see a beer bottle heading his way. However, with his intoxicated mind, he couldn't dodge in time and thus it smacked him straight in his face, knocking him away from Josh._

" _Ouch!" Chris held his wound, luckily it wasn't bleeding but there was a lump already forming. He righted his glasses and looked at who had interrupted them. "Beth?! What the hell, don't be a cock blocker!"_

" _Shut your face, Chris!" She warned as she helped Josh up off of the floor._

" _Beth," Josh tried. "We were just making out, it's no biggy-"_

" _Joshua," Beth glared at him. "Making out involves lips only, not HIM dry humping you to get off!"_

 _Josh didn't seem to understand and giggled, Beth rolled her eyes. "Stay away from my brother." Her tone was serious as she turned her glare to Chris who held his hands up in defence._

 _Taking Josh's hand, she dragged him down the stairs. Chris sighed before looking around, he needed to clean up the bedroom of its beer bottles otherwise he would never hear the end of it from Mrs and Mr Washington._

 _Once he was done, he was going to pass out on Josh's bed but then he figured he should apologise. Grabbing the bottles, which he had left in a slightly (totally not really) neat pile, he headed down the stairs and tripped up (or rather down) on most of them. Somehow he managed to find his way into the kitchen without breaking his neck. Chris took that as a win._

 _Beth was standing by the window, and Josh was passed out on the kitchen counter with only a few beer bottles on either side of him. This was where they had first started with their drinking game before they headed upstairs, but now it seemed like the place they would be finishing. He placed the bottles on either side of himself and Josh so he didn't look like the only drunk one._

" _Hey," Chris flinched at the glare he got from one of the twins._

" _What did I say to you?! I told you to stay away-"_

" _I came to apologise," Chris insisted as he sat down opposite Josh, no longer in the mood to move. He just wanted sleep "I'm not going to hurt him, alright?"_

 _It seemed like it was against her better judgement, but reluctantly, Beth didn't kick him out._

 _Chris wondered if this was a sign of trust…_

" _Just don't touch him again, understood?"_

 _Evidently not._

" _Yes, Ma'am." He saluted before he too passed out on the table with an apology under his breath…_

* * *

Even though they had been plastered that night, Chris had remembered, he had hoped that Josh had remembered as well…Not that he knew what would happen if the elder Washington could recall their late night events.

Yet all of those thoughts were lost when they had been awoken by the police the next morning. And they found out that Beth and Hannah had disappeared. It broke Josh, and Chris lost his friend, and he knew that he shouldn't say anything to him.

As the days pasted on, Josh grew more and more distant from the group, the only ones he would really talk to anymore were Chris or Sam, the rest just didn't…They didn't want to know. Maybe from guilt? He couldn't be sure.

What was worse, instead of being there for Josh, he too had stayed away. Remembering the words Beth had said to him on that fate changing night.

They may have been emailing each other, but that was all, the last time Josh had come down from the mountain had been at the Twins funeral. With Josh so far away, Chris had got to know Ashley more and found himself too busy with her to give a text back straight away, and sometimes left it a few days until he replied.

Walking back out of the room, Chris closed the door tightly shut. Before he had got into the Cable Car he had promised himself that he wouldn't ignore Josh, that he would start being the best friend he should be –and be there for him.

"… _No…"_

Chris raised an eyebrow at the muffled voice. "Josh?" It sounded like it was coming from behind a closed door. Following the noise, Chris stopped dead at the room he was in front of; it was Hannah's.

" _Hannah…Beth…no…"_ It was clearly Josh behind the door, there was a few other noises of crying, deep breathing and groaning in pain.

Gently Chris opened the door, he was surprised it didn't make a sound, and he was greeted by a Butterfly night light that had been switched on. It was Hannah's old nightlight. It illuminated the room up in a soft, purple glow, and showed Josh sleeping curled up in a ball on her bed, wrapped in Beth's blankets as Hannah's lay under him.

The smell of the girls perfume was scented in the air, the bottle being freshly used before being placed on the bedside table.

However, something quickly caught Chris' eyes. On the floor by the bed was quite a few bandages that were marked with blood. His arms were out of the covers and showed off small, but many, cuts into his skin. They were self-inflicted.

"Oh Josh," Chris moved over and took hold of the others wrist. "What have you been doing to yourself?"

As he bent down and stroked Josh's face to try and ease his slumber, his foot knocked into something. Looking down, he picked up a needle and bottle.

Drugs were his first thought, and he was right, but they weren't illegal. Or at least they didn't seem so, but something didn't seem right about them. Dropping the needle but keeping the small, medical bottle that had once been full of liquid, Chris stood back up.

"I swear I'm going to help you, Josh. Even if it's the last thing I do." Running a hand through the dark, short yet curly locks, he was amazed at how soft they were. Slowly, he crouched down and pressed a kiss against Josh's forehead before leaving the room as silently as he could.

He wasn't going to let his best friend fight this battle by himself. He was going to help, he wasn't going to leave. Not again…

 **If you want more then please review! Sorry about all the mistakes. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Thank you all so much for your comments and support! It means a lot to me. Cheers :)**

 **Warnings: _CUTTING._ Trigger warning! General spoilers. Pre-Slash/Slash. Eventual Chris/Josh. Depression/mental state. Dark theme. Mistakes ahead! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything to do with Until Dawn. If I did, there would be another game out already and Josh would be fine. T.T**

The Papilio Effect. Chapter 3: Poison…

Chris paced back and forth a few times with his mobile phone pressed against his ear, he had run down most of the snow a while back with continuously walking over it. His footsteps surrounded him where he stood by the Cable car station – it seemed like the only place he could a somewhat good connection.

And by somewhat good, he meant terrible, but at least there was a connection!

" _Hello?"_ The voice that came from the other line brought relief to him.

"Ashley!" He said a bit too happily. "I've been trying to get in touch with you for the past half an hour."

" _Chris?"_ She paused. _"Where are you? Are you outside somewhere? Why can I hear the wind?"_

"Ash," Chris stopped her from speaking. "I'm at Blackwood Pines, I'm staying with-"

" _What?! Why are you back there, Chris? I-"_

"I'm staying with Josh, he seemed really down and I thought I'd come and cheer him up, you know?"

" _Oh…"_ She didn't sound thrilled. If anything, she sounded bitter.

"Anyway," he started again. "I need you to look something up for me. I would do it myself but the connection here doesn't last."

" _Okay, what is it?"_

"Errm," Chris pulled a small bottle from his jacket pocket. "A medicine called *Elavila?"

" _Elavila? Okay, give me a second_."

"Oh don't worry," he said with sarcasm. "Take your time, take your time – it's not like I'm in the middle of a mountain that has terrible connection or something."

Ashley ignored his comment.

" _Elavila is a form of anti-depressant, but it was marked as…"_

"As?"

Ashley's voice seemed to tremble over the line. _"As inhumane to use. There were reports that it coursed… Hallucinations, paralysis, seizures, light-headiness, weakness of all muscle movements, numbness, trouble concentrating, nightmares, blurred vision, headaches, ringing in the ears and drowsy or dizziness."_

"And this stuff is banned?" He rolled the tiny bottle around in his hands while he spoke.

" _Yes, but it seems like it's still out there on the black-market. Oh god, Chris. Please tell me that you haven't taken any of this stuff?"_

"No, I haven't," Chris' face was deadly serious. "But Josh has."

" _What?"_

"I think they were prescribed to him or something. Look Ash, I'll call you back – I have to go."

" _Wait, Chris!"_

Chris ended the phone call before he could hear what she had to say and began running back to the Lodge…

* * *

" _Josh! Hurry up!"_

 _Josh looked up from where he was running and jumping over fallen branches that threatened to trip him up as he ran through the woods, his eyes locked onto the two figures in front of him who had called his name._

 _Beth and Hannah looked back at him, their hands stretched out and waiting for him to take hold of them, but they were too fast and continued to move further away from his grasps._

" _Hurry, Josh!" Hannah called._

" _You can do it, Josh – come on!" Beth reassured._

 _Josh pushed himself forwards, ignoring the cold chill of the air as he cried his sisters names. Yet just as he got close enough to reach for their awaiting hands –_

Snapping awake, Josh panted heavily, his eyes were wide with fear and horror that ran through them. With shaking hands, he pulled back the blankets that had covered him and stood up, his legs didn't seem to want to work with the rest of his body and it took a lot longer than he wanted to make it to the bathroom.

Opening the door, he stumbled inside and closed it with a bang. Locking it with ease.

Leaning against the wooden frame, the 20 year old tried to calm his breathing, but it did little to help. Tension clung to his shoulders when he wrapped his arms around himself before giving up trying to stand and slide down the door with a thud when he hit the cold, tiled ground.

Why did this always have to happen? Why did he always have to have nightmares like that? Every night since their disappearance…all he had was dreams that seemed to be teasing him with not being able to protect his sisters like he should have. Having them so close and yet so far from his grasps.

Without even realising it, tears slide down his face and he held his knees against his chest, his arms forming some sort of protective barrier around himself.

"You're pathetic..."

Josh's frantic breathing now went higher by a few pitches as he heard that far too familiar voice boom around the bathroom. He had buried his head within his arms and didn't dare look up. He didn't need to, he already knew who was there.

"You're weak…"

"No," Josh cried out and curled more into himself if that was even possible. "Please, just leave me alone!"

His pleading was ignored.

"You let us die!"

Finally, Josh snapped his head up and immediately regretted it as the sight of his sister's greeted him. They stood there, looking down at him with a sneer knitted onto their decaying features – their bodies beginning to decompose.

"You're not real!" Challenged Josh, his eyes franticly looking anywhere but at the girls.

"Josh," Beth crouched down next to her brother. "You let us die, you killed us, and you're nothing but a coward-"

"Shut up!"

It was Hannah's laughing beside him that made Josh flinch away in fear as he scrabbled on his hands and knees over to the drawers that were there. Anything to get away from the twins.

"No one can save you, Josh," she said while her head twisted to look at him better. "Not even Chris."

' _Chris!'_ Josh's thoughts were panicked. _'This isn't real, this isn't real!'_ He didn't even realise that he was speaking his thoughts out loud. _'But Chris is!'_

Thinking of the methodical blonde teen who he had called his best friend since they were kids, a sudden sense of reassurance washed over him when both Hannah and Beth seemed to fade in and out like an old black and white TV being tuned, but it was short lived.

Beth grinned sickly. "You don't think he'll want you, do you?" Hannah's laugh was her only response. "After everything you've done? You think that Chris will want you with what a mess you've become?"

"Look at yourself!" Hannah chimed in. "No one cares about you. Chris doesn't even like you, you'll disgust him when he sees those marks."

There were three words that stuck out to the elder Washington child; _Disgust_ and _those marks._

Josh looked down at his bare arms, shaking with an unknown amount of emotion, they were right. Long cuts and bruises married his skin, some were old, others were new, some had dried blood by them and some were simply pinkish/red marks that seemed to stand out against his skin.

If Chris knew…He wouldn't want to be his friend anymore. He wouldn't want to talk or be anywhere near him. He was disgusting. Without Chris, he would have no one.

"Face it," Beth began and Hannah finished.

"You're better off dead."

 _Snap._

Just like that something snapped within him and his body began to move on its own. He opened the draw he had moved beside; inside was a pile of bandages and towels, underneath them revealed a sharp, silver razor blade.

Grasping hold of it, Josh lightly pressed it against his wrist, the wounds there had healed a long time ago but in his mind they were still as fresh as the day he made them.

"'M sorry…" He apologised to thin air, holding the blade so tight he cut the palm of his hand. Pressing the cold steal down harder, he let his breathe go, a droplet of blood already forming from the wake of the new mark.

The first cut was always the hardest.

Digging the blade into his skin with more force when he began to move it along slowly, he watched as crimson poured from the wound.

This was real. This right here was real. Everything else wasn't real. That dream wasn't real…It was just a dream. Hannah and Beth were dead. He was alive. He was real…wasn't he?

The pain grew. It hurt. Yet that's how Josh knew…

That this was his reality...

* * *

" _Do you know what I think, Joshua? I think you killed your sisters for attention, am I right?"_

" _No!" Josh shook his head. "I would never hurt my sisters, I swear!"_

 _The elder smiled. "Your sisters had everything, didn't they? They always got away with everything, too. Even your Daddy and Mommy use to love them more than you, isn't that right? What did your father say when he found out you killed your sisters?"_

" _I-I didn't hurt them…"_

" _Joshua, who are you trying to fool, hmm? You are an attention seeking psychopath who hunted your sisters down and murdered them in cold blood!"_

" _No…no…I-I wouldn't…"_

" _Here," he stood and walked over to where Josh sat and lent against the desk, a sharp looking needle in his hand. "This will help you forget what you did to them, that's what you want isn't it, psycho?"_

 _The needle quickly found a vein and injected its liquid into the trembling younger male._

 _Muscles already becoming relaxed, Josh found his vision starting to blur and he couldn't feel anything else anymore…_

* * *

Josh cut his other wrist and tears mixed with his blood.

He fell backwards until he hit the floor. The blade slide from his hand, and as he looked around, he couldn't see his sisters anymore – they had vanished as if they had never been there in the first place.

At the brink of unconscious, Josh lay on the bathroom floor, crimson smeared across its tiles _._ His eyes were open but held barely any life within them. All over his body had scares and bruises, and most of them…if inspected closely enough…would not be seen as self-inflicted.

Handprints lay on his hips from being forced down, on his back were long, rugged marks that simply wouldn't heal. Josh couldn't blame them, though, because he couldn't heal either…

"Josh?!"

The dark haired youth slowly looked up as he heard his name get called in the distance of the Lodge. No, that couldn't have been who he thought it was, could it?

"C…h…r…i….s?"

Josh didn't know why, but he used what little strength he had left and army crawled towards the door. It was a lot harder than he expected, but with black spots taking over his vision, he just about unlocked the door before he collapsed into a heap with one last thought on his mind.

 _'Chris...'_

 **Poor Josh :'(**

 ** _*_ I made the injection drug (Elavila) up. There is an anti-depressant with a similar name, but I decided to just make one up for the sake of the story. **


	4. Chapter 4

**This was originally suppose to be two chapters, but I really wanted to get this whole thing out of the way and let better things happen to Josh. So I added the chapters together for you. Cheer for the support so far! :)**

 **Warnings: Dream world/mental state. Eventual Chris/Josh. Please excuse the mistakes!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything to do with Until Dawn...Unfortunately... -_-**

The Papilio Effect. Chapter 4: Funhouse/Dollhouse…

"I-"

 _Pant…_

"-Should definitely-"

 _Pant…_

"-Workout-"

 _Pant…_

"More!"

Chris practically threw himself into the Lodge, kissing the –thankfully- none snow covered floor, before rolling onto his back and kicking the door shut with his booted foot. He watched silently, starting to catch his breath again, as small, white flecks of snow shuddered from his boots at the force of impact with the door.

With a sigh, he allowed his head to fall back onto the surface beneath him. There was an aching pain within his muscles from how quickly he had ran (hobbled more like with what was underfoot) to get back to the Lodge. Yet as he lay there, not daring to move, some relief began to flood back into his arms and legs. They didn't burn so much.

And then, like a ton of bricks that fell from a great height, realisation hit him.

"Josh!"

Turning onto his stomach, regretting the action slightly from the protest of having to move so suddenly that came from his body, Chris forced himself up. Using the banister as support, he pulled himself up the many –too many- stairs.

He began to head straight for Hannah's room, hoping that Josh would still be sound asleep, but the blonde stopped short after passing the bathroom.

Chris slowly backed up a few steps. Not wanting to look at what caught his attention in the first place, but couldn't help it. His eyes sank down to the ground and his heart skipped far too many beats at the sight that greeted him.

Blood. It was straining through the crack in the door, wind sweeping through along with shallow breathing.

' _No,'_ Chris thought. His hand shakenly reached for the handle, taking hold of it with uncontrollable jitters and a cold grasp.

"Josh…?"

No answer.

He turned the nob and though it was unlocked, something –someone- was blocking the way.

Using some force to try and move what was jamming the door, Chris was able to push through, and the unholy sound of skin scrapping across a tiled floor filled his ears and made him grimace.

There he was, laying lifelessly on the floor, blood in his wake that came from deep marks that went over his wrists. Possibly catching and puncturing a vein. It looked like he had tried to crawl towards the door, so much as unlocking it before finally passing out from god knows what.

Reacting quicker than he thought he ever could, Chris grabbed a few towels from the nearest draw, and wrapped them around Josh's open wounds. He applied enough pressure to try and stop the bleeding.

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something that was reflecting the drowning out sun (due to darkening clouds); it was a blade. He glared at it, wanting nothing more than to rid the Lodge of what it coursed. But he ignored it, for now.

The sweetest relief flooded Chris when he felt a pulse, it was almost over whelming to feel the beat against his fingertips.

Picking, mostly dragging, Chris moved Josh towards the bed that was within the room he had slept in the night before, and gently placed the one year older male down onto the blanket covered mattress.

Collapsing down next to his best friend on the bed, Chris sighed in defeat, running a hand through Josh's hair as he did.

"What am I going to do with you?"

* * *

If Chris could leave Blackwood Pines with Josh in toe and never look back, then he would have been more than happy to trot however many miles it was to the cable car and go home with his best friend at his side.

Or out cold on his back as the case would be. Either way, as long as they got away from here and back to a place that was normal and had a hospital (plus a phone connection) he would be a very happy man.

However. With the storm getting much worse outside, the many trails to the Lodge soon disappearing under the snow and rain which made almost everything iced, and an unconscious Joshua Washington, though with a steady heartbeat, but harmful wounds –

Chris had the deadly suspicion that he wouldn't make it half away and defiantly not all the distance he needed to go.

So, he instead sat on the bed that Josh slept on, eating an apple, watching said male closely.

His breathes weren't shallow anymore, the bleeding had died down and some of the wounds had dried with cracks of black blood around them. Honestly, there was only one thing wrong with the whole situation, other than the fact that they were actually in this situation to begin with, and that was the fact that no matter how Chris tried to stir him awake;

Josh wouldn't open his eyes for love nor money.

"Hey…" Chris began lamely. "You know you could wake up now, right?"

It was a poor attempt, and the only thing that seemed like any sort of response was Josh's eyes fluttering but never opening, his hands tightening against the covers yet nothing else.

The blonde shook the other's shoulders, but eventually gave up; maybe he needed this rest?

Chris couldn't help but get a bad feeling as he wondered what he was dreaming about...

* * *

 _It was sunny. That was the only way that Josh could describe the feeling that graced his face, the warm rays reflecting against his skin, stinging his eyes even though they were closed._

' _Who left the curtains open?' He wondered briefly when he finally opened his eyes and blinked them a few time to adjust to the sudden form of light. 'Wait a minute…Where am I?'_

 _Josh grabbed hold of the blankets that surrounded him and looked around. Everything seemed so familiar…_

 _No. It couldn't be._

 _Pulling back the blankets, Josh slowly pushed his feet down until they met the cold floorboards, with ease, he stood up. He made to look out of the window, but before he could, he heard something come from down the stairs._

 _Wondering what had coursed the noise, Josh waded through the door and down the staircase until he entered the kitchen – his eyes went wide at what he saw._

" _Mom? Dad?" Their names left his mouth before he could stop them._

 _His mother looked at him and smiled brightly, walking over and kissing his forehead. "Good morning, Honey. I've made pancakes, take a seat." She directed and without even thinking about it, Josh followed the command._

 _His father nodded his head towards his son as he read the newspaper, and in return Josh felt a grin form at the edge of his lips._

" _Here you go," his mother placed a plate full of pancakes down in front of him and his stomach rumbled in desire of the food. "Enjoy."_

 _Josh watched her head back over to the cooker, making more breakfast. The brown haired male wanted nothing more than to dig into his food, but just as he was about to, his father greeted two people who stood by the door._

" _Morning Hannah, morning Beth-"_

 _Josh snapped his head up, seeing both Hannah and Beth wonder into the kitchen and sat down next to him, nudging his side and laughing at his shocked expression. As they all ate the food given to them, Josh stared at the twins with awe, and he knew from then on that he was home._

 _And he never wanted to leave._

 _Josh never noticed the blonde male who was standing outside the house, banging against the window and calling his name…_

* * *

It seemed that when a storm hit Blackwood Pines, it took absolutely nothing for granted and tore everything that lingered in its path down. In fact the only thing that seemed to still be standing on the mountain was the Lodge and a few sturdy trees. Then again, if Chris could actually see anything outside of the window then he might have a better opinion on the weather.

Yet as he looked out of the Guest bedroom window, its glass freezing over from the outside due to the chill in the air, all that he saw was darkness. It was completely pitch black.

Even on the inside, too.

The Lodge's power had gone out about an hour ago while the blonde had been watching (in a-none creepy way) over Josh while he slept on the bed, and he was not willing to admit that when the lights went out he squealed.

Nope. It was a manly yell. Very manly. And by "yell," it was more of a scream. That almost ended up with him jumping under the covers with his best friend. Not that he would have minded, but that was neither here or there at the moment.

However, Chris had done a very brave thing. He grabbed a torch, grabbed a bunch of blankets, and locked the bedroom door – just in case. Now he was dithering from the cold, in between staring into the black abyss of the night and watching Josh.

It was the squirming that made the blonde snap his eyes back to his best friend. Josh had a sweat across his forehead, his breathing was raspy and the more he moved – no matter how little that movement may have been – it made his wounds start up again.

"Hey," Chris rushed over and sat beside the 20 year old. "It's okay, it's going to be alright." He smoothed but it didn't seem to do anything.

Josh continued to thrash about, mumbling some form of a cry, he twisted and turned until finally – Chris had enough.

It was like being in some sort of wrestling match, but after slithering under the covers, he somehow managed to pin Josh to his chest like he was a big, cuddly teddy bear. As he did, it calmed the other down a great deal. Josh moved more into the touch and practically hide within Chris' awaiting arms.

The blonde wasn't too sure, but he was almost positive that if the beauty in his arms woke up right about now, it would not end well. Their legs were entangled, their arms were entangled, and to top it all off – Josh had snuggled into Chris like he was a pillow.

 _'Wait…beauty?!'_ Chris grimaced at his own thoughts. _'What the hell is wrong with you? Your best friend's hurt and all you can think about is how beautiful he is? Urgh.'_

Yet as Josh slept soundly, Chris pulling the blankets closer around them, he couldn't help but admire how peaceful he looked…

* * *

 _It was the same. Every time he woke up. He would open his eyes, he would see the same room, the same light rays from the sun pouring in from the window to grace his features to disturb him from his slumber, and then he would head down stairs and he would eat breakfast with his family._

 _Josh was sure it was going to be the same as every other day he woke up, except there was something different about it. Though his mother, father and sisters were there, half way through their meal, a knocking sound occurred_.

 _It came from the front door. At first he had ignored it. Thinking that maybe it was all in his head, but as time went on everybody around the table seemed to get more annoyed by it. No one got up to see who it was, and Josh continued to ignore it the best he could, somehow he knew that if he opened that door – everything would change. He wasn't sure if he wanted things to change._

 _Beth and Hannah would start to giggle at the noise of the knocking, whispering about who it could be, but the elder child would never hear them clearly._

 _Finally, his father began to speak as he folded his new paper in half, annoyance in his tone. "I bet you it's that blonde boy!"_

 _Josh frowned. "What blonde boy?" A sudden, blurred image of a tall teenage with dirty blonde hair filled Josh's mind. He shook his head. Who was that?_

 _His mother glared. "I'm sure he'll go away eventually."_

 _"Ha!" Mr Washington scoffed. "I never did like that Chris."_

 _Chris. Why did that name ring a bell? Josh wondered as he quickly excused himself. He waded into the hall and locked eyes onto the front door._

 _~Knock, knock, knock~_

 _It wouldn't stop._

 _Curiosity getting the better of him, the 20 year old silently moved towards the door, reaching out to open it. Something – someone – stopped him dead in his tracks._

 _"Josh?" He turned around and saw Hannah and Beth staring at him. "What are you doing?"_

* * *

"You know," Chris began. "I read somewhere that even though a person is asleep, they can still hear most things that are going on around them…Or maybe that's for people who are in commas?"

"Maybe it's sort of the same in this situation?" He pressed. Somehow Chris had moved onto his back, staring blankly up at the ceiling, with Josh hugging his side.

"Anyway," he wiped a thin layer of sweat from the curly haired male's forehead. "I figured I'd read to you, but that seemed weird. If it helps any I've come up with some sort of plan. Wait for the storm to break and then leave this mountain with you in toe-"

"C…h…r…i…s,"

The blonde shot his head towards Josh, but the hope that had built in his eyes vanished as quickly as it came. He was still asleep.

"Yeah, I know…" Chris trailed off. "This is going to be a long night."

* * *

 _"You should just ignore him," Hannah suggested while leaning against the wall. "He's an idiot."_

 _Beth crossed her arms over her chest. "And a dirty dog."_

 _Josh was torn. He looked between his sisters and the door that continued to be knocked._

 _"You're wrong," he suddenly gained confidence. "Chris is my best friend and I need him." With that, Josh turned towards the door and stepped closer. He ignored his sisters and parents as they tried to keep him away from opening it. This wasn't real. Chris was._

 _Grasping hold of the handle, Josh turned it in his hand and opened it wide, before him stood a lanky, handsome blonde with a stupid grin on his face. He winked at Josh and reached out his hand._

 _"It's about time you woke up," Chris said when Josh finally placed his hand in his…_

* * *

"It's about time you woke up, Josh. You're kind of freaking me out. Do I need to ski down the mountain with you tapped to my back or what? Come on, you need to wake up already, I need my best friend back in the land of the living! I don't know what I'm doing without you, damn it!"

Chris stopped rambling once he realised that Josh was staring at him. He was staring. Eyes bloodshot, but open…

He grinned, doing everything in his power to stop himself from jumping the other. "How much of that did you hear?" It was late morning and he was pacing around the room in a jumper and jeans.

"Enough, Cochise." Josh shared his grin weakly until a very serious look took over the blondes face.

"Well I'm glad you're awake," Chris rolled up his jumper's sleeves. "Because now I'm going to kick your ass for worrying the life out of me!"

It's safe to say that with the way Chris pounced onto the bed and tackled Josh; the bed broke…

 **There you have it! Josh is awake, yay! :3 Once again; apologise about the mistakes. ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the support! :) Believe it or not, but the dream scene was actually based off of an episode from Wentworth (this too is an addictive show) and not Attack On Titan - but I see the similarity. X)**

 **Warnings: Slight Chris/Josh. Dark theme. Humour. Mistakes ahead! General spoilers.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own UNTIL DAWN...Believe me, Josh and Chris would have got together within the first few seconds of the game had I had anything to do with it T.T**

The Papilio Effect. Chapter 5: There She Goes…

When Josh opened his eyes and took in the sight that met his pale orbs, he didn't expect to be jumped on by his best friend, who then wrapped his arms tightly around him. The blonde practically hugged him. It hurt a bit at first, the embrace a tad too tight, but then Josh found himself melting into the touch and moving his arms so they were around Chris' shoulders.

The emotions that greeted Josh were rather overwhelming to comprehend, but the one that stuck out the most was simply; safe. For the first time in ages the twenty year old felt safe.

Burying his face into the side of Chris' neck, Josh closed his bloodshot eyes and took in a deep, shuddering breathe; this was real. Chris was real. They were both okay, Josh was alive, he was awake, and most importantly – he was with Chris. He was still here with him. He had left like everyone else had left him.

"I thought I lost you," the methodical one of the two spoke out, forcing Josh from his train of thought. "I didn't know what to do…"

Eyes fluttering open automatically, Josh soon found himself staring blankly at his own wrists and the marks that now lingered on them. The wounds didn't look deep, but the pain had been enough for him to pass out, they hadn't been bandaged but clearly kept clean and wrapped in a make shift one.

Yet as he watched those bent out of shape and very much rouge wounds without so much as a blink of an eye, he couldn't help but think that his sisters were right; he was disgusting.

Chris was going to be angry at him, he was going to hate him and –

"Josh?"

The dark haired youth hadn't even realised that he had started crying. The far too familiar taste of tears slide into the side of his mouth, his lips quivered with uncertainty and his eyes began to sting from keeping them open for so long.

Eyelashes touching his cheeks, Josh was forced to close his orbs, he felt a thumb gently trace along face and rub away the salty tears until it seemed like they had never been there to begin with.

"Stay with me, okay?"

The blonde didn't seem angry…he didn't seem disgusted…

It was only when a pair of lips met his own that he found himself feeling whole ~

* * *

Chris wasn't sure what he was doing when he had leaped onto the bed, pretty much tackling Josh down with ease and pulling him into the tightest hug he could give. He really had no idea what he was doing or why he was even doing it.

He had been so close to losing his best friend, damn it! Chris couldn't image what he would have done if those wounds had been any deeper. It was only now that the seriousness of the situation finally sank it. Josh had almost killed himself, and he hadn't been there. What if he hadn't come back when he did?

Josh clung to him almost as tightly as Chris to him.

"I thought I lost you," Chris couldn't quite believe that his own voice sounded so beaten down. "I didn't know what to do…"

The sniffles and low toned whimpers made the blonde pull away slightly, seeing the broken look on his best friends face was heart-breaking to say the least.

Out of them both, Josh had always seemed to be the strong one, the one who people turned to in their time of need, the one who always wore a carefree smile that could warm its way into anyone's heart, the complex but lovable nature – how could someone so strong look so broken?

"…Josh…?"

The elder youth didn't look at him, but the tears he was shedding were clearly seen. Slowly wiping the droplets away, it looked as though Josh was sinking into another world, being taken away by his own cracked mind; he looked frightened, scared and hollow~

There wasn't much time to think. There wasn't much time to do anything. The blonde didn't even know why he was leaning in. Making sure he wasn't touching any wounds that looked bad (-who was he kidding - they all looked bad to him) Chris fought the urge to do anything risky.

He was on top of Josh, after all, many people would be tempted to kiss those small, dark, pink lips. To trace their fingers over his skin to see if it was as soft as it looked. To hold him until all the pain that ran through his features went away. To fight the demons that were haunting him.

Leaning down ever so slowly, Chris smoothly captured Josh's lips against his own. Though it was storming outside with blistering winds rocking their surroundings, the kiss seemed to bring the heat of the sun down upon them. It was messy, at first, before turning into the most passionate kiss that Chris had ever given or been given.

Time would have seemed to stop, had they not needed to pull away for air. Both breathlessly panting, staring at each other with half hooded eyes, the younger placed his forehead against Josh's and allowed life to come back to their burning lungs.

"Chris…I…" Josh began, but was cut off by another kiss. This one was short but sweet and evermore meaningful.

"I don't want you to cut ever again, Josh…There's always another way, you know?" Chris prompted. "I'm here, okay? I'm not leaving you alone again."

Josh didn't seem to know what to say, but the smile that bloomed on his face and the twinkle in his eyes made Chris realise that he had possibly just done the most awesome thing ever…

* * *

The weather seemed to change from the on-going storm to complete and utter stillness in the entirety of Blackwood Pines Mountain. It was weird, but Chris was thankful that it had stopped, or at least it seemed to be at ease for the moment.

The power was kind of back on as well. The lights had blown, but the hot water worked and the fire place still had some wood ready to be used – so it had been no big deal.

Josh was cleaning himself up, Chris had personally run him a bath but had used the time in the bathroom to make sure there was nothing dangerous that lingered there, the elder had needed help taking off his shirt because even after a few pain pills (which Chris had made sure was the real deal) his wrists still coursed some pain.

-Oh yeah, the blonde almost had a nose bleed with how hot Josh looked without his shirt. All the time up here chopping wood must've been good for something. Yet those thoughts had settled at the back of his mind when Chris had seen the belt marks against Josh's back. He had wanted to ask who made them, clearly they weren't self-inflicted, but had gone against it. Though he felt rage at whoever would do such a thing, he figured that with time, Josh would open up to him.

Since then he had left the other up there and now sat by himself on the covered sofa, watching the growing fire that Josh had told him how to set up beforehand.

Frowning at his mobile phone, which he had been trying to turn on for the past few minutes, he grumbled and threw it down on the coffee table. It was dead. With no power in the lodge, it meant no charging his phone, which meant many bad things to him; yeah, no big deal. Note the sarcasm.

Looking at his dead-as-a-dodo mobile, Chris spotted the small bottle next to it, it was the drug. That was something else he would have to talk to Josh about, but he would leave it for now.

Resting his head against the back of the sofa, the young male was on the brink of falling to sleep, but then he heard something.

Snapping his head up, his eyes instinctively sought out what made the noise and his breathing hitched when it happened again. It was a creaking sound. And it was coming from the basement.

Standing up, Chris watched as the door handle began to rattle uncontrollably. Someone – something – wanted in.

"Chris?"

The blonde looked over and saw Josh who had whispered his name, he heard the rattling too and slowly made his way towards him. He was wearing a long sleeved t-shirt, the bandages were barely visible unless you knew where to look, and a pair of baggy jeans married his far too slim frame.

"There's something trying to break into the Lodge…" Chris plainly stated.

"I can hear that, Coachise," responded Josh who stood beside him. "Maybe we should just ignore it?"

Chris shrugged. "As tempting as that sounds, I don't think _whatever's_ in there wants to ignore trying to get in here."

The more the rattles continued, the slower their steps came to approaching the basement door.

"Do you have, like…I don't know, a weapon or something?"

Josh seemed to think this over for a moment. "There's a baseball bat-"

"Great!" Chris chimed but kept his voice as low as possible. "Where is it?"

"In the basement."

Oh…The irony of this situation…

"Stay here," Chris commanded and moved with ease around the Lodge, heading to the Kitchen and grabbing a torch and one other important piece of equipment.

"Coachise?" Josh asked sceptically while he eyed the blonde who now held a lit torch which was pointed at the basement door, and in his other hand was a frying pan ready to be used to belt someone over the head with.

"You open the door and then I'll whack whatever's there," Chris explained with a grin at his owe brilliance of a marvellous plan of action.

Josh was hesitant. "Don't you think we should-?"

"Josh, please," Chris whispered back. "I got this."

With a worried expression, Josh grabbed the key and unlocked the door before moving out of the way when it flew open.

 _-Bam-_

Striking like a snake, Chris threw the frying pan at the unsuspecting intruder and smiled in victory.

"What the hell!" A yell broke out along with a few screams.

Blinking slightly, Chris felt his smile of victory turn into a frown, both him and Josh wondered to the basement door and looked down.

There, sprawled out on the floor, was Mike. A torch rolling around on the floor showed Sam, Ash, Jess, Emily and Matt with shocked expressions on their face as they rushed to help their friend up.

"Oh…That's not good…" Chris mumbled as he and Josh shared a look. Ever so slowly, they backed away from the basement door…

 **Just a warning...I'm more of a fan of Sam and Emily than Jessica and Ashley. So if they're your favourites in the game, especially the later of the two...beware. That's all I'm saying on the subject. Cheers for reading :)**

 **{Update} Please remember that not everything is as it seems in this story, especially where Dr Hill is concerned. This is a rather long, length story that has many chapters. There's not much I can do unless you want a completely undetailed (not that my details are that great) story so I can hurry up with the plot. I will try and update faster, but please try and remember that everything is not as it seems with this fic. Thank you.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, I've had a rather hectic week -_- I'm not going into detail, but there's a good reason as to why this chapter has taken so long to update; sorry about the wait.**

 **It's really late here (for me, anyway) so there will be mistakes ahead. Warnings and Disclaimers insert here from other chapters.**

The Papilio Effect. Chapter 6: This Little Girl…

Taking in a deep breathe of the nights air that had undoubtedly refreshed his lungs, glass covered eyes that stared at the large moon above which was shining an enchanting, silver, glow that was brought out more in its natural colour due to the darkening skies that surrounded it. With his hands holding onto the banister that had a thin layer of ice slithering over it – Chris quickly glanced back into the Lodge where all of his friends currently were.

Mike sat on the sofa with an icepack, nursing a head wound where a lump was forming from a (now) dented frying pan. Emily and Jessica were having a surprisingly low rated disagreement, and Matt awkwardly watched his girlfriend as he was unsure of what to do in this type of situation.

Ashley was nowhere to be seen, having disappeared once things had settled down, though Chris did recall hearing her mumble something about using the little girl's room. Sam was –

"Hey," the blonde male jumped slightly when he heard a voice. Turning his head away from the inner side of the Lodge, Chris locked eyes with Sam who was tugging at the corner of her coat, trying to fight away the coldness of the night. "How are you holding up?"

Chris shrugged while a chilly breeze swept over them. "I'd be better with a mobile phone connection."

Sam snickered to herself before wrapping her arms over her chest, her laughs fading into the darkness that surrounded them. "How is he?"

"Josh? He's fine," Chris let the lie slip from his lips with a bit too much ease. He didn't want anyone of their small group of friends to know what the eldest child of Washington's was going through, figuring that Josh wouldn't want them to know – hell – Chris was pretty sure that Josh more than likely didn't want him to know either.

Was it just him, or did Sam give him a look that pretty much stated she didn't believe him? Whether she did or didn't, Chris was grateful that his fellow 19 year old let it be.

They both looked up at the seemingly impossibly close moon. "How did you guys get up here with the storm, anyway?"

Sam glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. "The storm stopped at dawn, so after meeting up at the bottom of the mountain, we came up. Don't get me wrong, the trails were hard to follow, I kind of wished we could have got Josh to lead us…Mike isn't the best at navigating."

"Or dodging an epically thrown frying pan," Chris murmured with a growing smirk. He and Josh had later found out that the door to the lodge had fully iced through, the others had knocked but it must have been the time that the bath was being run and neither of the best friends had heard, and thus they had "broken" into the Washington Lodge. "I'm bad like that."

The dirty blonde started to do a mini victory dance that looked totally lame, but soon it stopped dead in its tracks as he saw the sight within the lodge from his movement; it was Josh.

He stood leaning against the carved structure of the fireplace, the warm glows of the flames that flickered with beauty, light and danger made Josh's bronze skin look so soft. His eyes, which seemed to be in some sort of trance like a moth drawn to a bright light, were like diamonds being held up to the ambers glow. A breath-taking sight.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, he is…" Chris said without thinking and ended up fighting a blush that was currently creeping up his neck when Sam let out a giggle.

Sam knocked into Chris' shoulder. "Maybe you should tell him that."

"I-I-err…" Stuttering like a fool, he ran a hand through his hair while moving back towards the door. "You know, it's getting cold, I think I'll go inside and…yeah-"

"I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer," Sam mused as she continued to stare at the moon while Chris practically ran inside of the Lodge. "I wondered how long it would take for those two to get together."

* * *

Upon entering the Lodge, Chris was greeted with a side glance from Mike who grumbled something before sinking deeper into the settee, and the blonde merely gave him an apologetic grin for coursing the lump on his head. Emily and Jess were glaring at each other now, but everyone knew they would more than likely start fighting one another again soon. Matt seemed drained but gave him a friendly smile.

"Hey Cochise," Josh grinned once he spotted his friend approaching. Chris was taken back by the relief that grew in Josh's eyes at the sight of him, and he somehow knew that it too was being reflected in his own. He was a few feet away and was about to talk to the other but before he could, his arm was suddenly grabbed hold of and he was pulled away.

Chris tried not to notice the hurt look that flashed over Josh's face as he was being dragged away by none other than Ashley. Who, might he add, had come out of nowhere like she had been waiting for him?

"Ash?"

Ashley continued to latch onto his arm and pull him towards the Library, ignoring the clear annoyance and complaint in his voice.

"I found something," was all she said to justify her reasoning for marching them away from their friends. And him away from Josh.

"Don't you think it can wait?" He let out with a sigh. "I was just about to talk to-"

"It's about Josh."

Okay. So now she had his attention.

"What about him?" Chris asked once they were safely tucked away behind the closed door of the Library, the walls around them were full of old (and some surprisingly new) books that hadn't one mere fleck of dust upon them.

Ashley moved her hands down from the blondes arm and entwined their hands before she sat herself down on a table that had a scrap note or two on it. Chris had to fight the urge to pull away from the woman before him, the contact between them – no matter how small – didn't seem right. Not anymore.

"I found out who Josh's psychiatrist is," she seemed very pleased with her answer.

Chris frowned. "So?" He didn't get the connection.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Did it ever accrue to you that maybe the one giving Josh those drugs would be his psychiatrist?"

Chris opened his mouth to say something but then snapped his jaw shut. He had been so worried about Josh that he had over looked the most obvious thing; the person who was giving him the drugs that were causing more damage than good.

She shook her head slightly yet a light laugh escaped her plump lips. "The Psychiatrist's name is Alan Hill. Dr Alan Hill."

"Thanks, Ash." Chris said truthfully. If he had a name then that meant he could track whoever this 'Alan Hill,' guy was, and get some answers as to why he would be giving an illegal drug to his patient.

The blonde was about to head back out of the Library, but was stopped as Ashley, who had surprising strength, yanked him back so that their faces were mere inches away – both of their faces going red at the closeness.

"Be careful around Josh, okay?" Ashley spoke shyly and looked down a little. "I don't trust him."

Those last words were quiet, but Chris had heard them clearly and was more than a bit shocked at the protectiveness that kicked in, and the fact he immediately wanted to deny any thoughts that Josh (his best friend) was not trust worthy. Yet somehow he was able to stop himself and instead he gave a forced smile.

"I'll…keep that in mind, Ash." He reassured.

Yet what Ashley did next stunned him to the core. She ran a hand over his face, her fingers trailing through his hair as she made to lean up to capture his slightly cracked lips – reality kicked in and Chris was able to pull away before anything "risky" could have happened.

Neither of them, however, saw the Library door close where it had been opened a mere fraction for someone to watch them with a clouded vision.

"I'm sorry, Ash…" Chris scratched the back of his neck and glanced away, unsure of what else to say. Ashley didn't reply, to red in the face and possibly even ashamed of her actions to do so, and instead sat there with her hands fumbling in her lap – head downcast.

Thankfully, or rather unthankfully, the sound of two girls arguing broke out through the Lodge.

Moving away slowly, Chris figured it was better to leave Ash to her own devices, she probably didn't want him around anyway.

Opening and closing the door, Chris was met with a very annoyed Emily and a snarling Jessica.

"Oh boy," the blonde mumbled. Both Matt and Mike were trying to calm the situation down, but all that seemed to be happening was them getting yelled at themselves by the two girls, ultimately being ignored.

"Em, come on, let's calm down-" Chris had to give it to Matt, he was trying to keep his girlfriend calm, but just when it seemed to be working, Jess would start straight back up again. Or the other way around.

"Girls," Mike insisted with his hands raised in defence. "Fighting like this is no fun with your clothes on-"

"Shut up, Mike!" An in sync shout from both Emily and Jessica made the dark chocolate haired male keep his thoughts to himself from then on.

Just when it seemed like it would end up being a free for all with almost everybody talking over the other to try and help, Josh's voiced called out with a deadly tone.

"Just stop it!"

Everyone stopped and turned towards the eldest of the group who was normally known for being able to keep his cool but also able to control a situation with ease, and most importantly, without losing it.

Jessica was the first to stomp her feet in protest, but didn't dare say anything back to Josh, who was watching them like a hawk. Finally, she crossed her arms over her chest and sat down with a permanent pout on her face.

Emily soon caved as well. Yet she took it with more grace and simply gave that cocky 'I'm better than you,' look pointed at her rival before taking her own seat of victory with pride in her eyes. Slowly, Matt and Mike sat down next to their girlfriends.

Chris moved over towards Josh, trying to get his attention, mostly to ease the glare that he was giving to the group of friends. However, the gentle squeeze he gave to Josh's upper arm was a mistakes when the other pushed him away with some force.

"-Josh?" Chris frowned from the force of impact, but it was the look of betrayal on Josh's face that stopped him from saying anything about it. He was going to reach out again, but just as he was about to, Ashley's voice broke through the room.

"Hey guys…where's Sam?"

Everyone looked around, and Chris found himself peering outside where he had last seen the blonde girl, only to see fading footprints in the snow that were leading away from the lodge. Uh-oh. This was bad. This was really bad.


End file.
